Detroit plated 26 runs against the Red Sox and won two of the three contests during the team’s final at-bat. The Tigers, which would go onto represent the American League in the World Series, edged the Red Sox in their season-opener, 3-2, despite Jose Valverde blowing what would have been his initial save of 2012.

Boston’s offense, which was led by Mike Aviles and Nick Punto, did provide its pitchers (and defense) with an opportunity to win this particular game, not just in the ninth inning, but also in the eleventh. However, Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon surrendered the leads by giving up a home run to Cabrera in the ninth inning and Avila in the eleventh.

“This is a work in progress,” first-year Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said following his team’s third setback of the 2012 season. “We’re three days in after losing our closer, and we’re still trying to figure it out.”

Boston would erase memories of the Sunday setback, along with its Opening Day loss on Monday, April 9th when they beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2.

Unfortunately, 2012 was not Boston’s best season as they finished 69-93 overall, as well as 26 games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Boston never spent a single day during the 2012 season in first-place – in fact, their longest winning streak was just six games (Apr. 23rd to Apr. 28th).

Weeks after squandering their lead to the Tigers, the Red Sox would suffer a disappointing 9-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in 17 innings.

As usual, it is time to brighten that spirit with a brand new ‘On This Date in History’ with your friends from Noontime Sports (and Noontime Nation!).

Be well, stay safe, and have a good rest of your morning/day, everyone!

On This Date in History: April 7th, 2020

1969: Relief pitcher Bill Singer was credited with the first official save when the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2.

1969: Former Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams manages his first game with the Washington Senators. Washington opened the season with an 8-4 setback to the New York Yankees. The Senators would conclude their 1969 campaign with an 86-76 record, along with a fourth-place finish in the American League East.

1977: The Toronto Blue Jays win their inaugural game in franchise history by beating the Chicago White Sox, 9-5. Toronto would conclude its initial season with a 54-107 record, as well as a seventh-place finish in the American League East.

1984: Jack Morris throws a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers against the Chicago White Sox. Years later, Justin Verlander would record two no-no’s with the Tigers, but Morris’ no-hitter was the first since Jim Bunning recorded one against the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958.

2018: The Vegas Golden Knights conclude their initial season with a 7-1 setback to the Calgary Flames, but finish with an NHL expansion team record of 51 victories. The new mark erases the original mark of 33 wins by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Florida Panthers from the 1993-94 season.

While the sports world remains at a standstill, the NFL announced they will not make any changes to its upcoming season (or its schedule). According to ProFootballTalk.com, NFL general counsel Jeff Pash told reporters yesterday during a conference call that “the league is planning for a full season.”

Deonte Harris, who played football for Assumption College, but is currently a return specialist for the New Orleans Saints, recently donated more than “10,000 meals to food banks” to help those struggling during this particular time with the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The good news about today is the weather: it is going to be gorgeous, so make sure to get outside and enjoy the sun.

Let’s kick-start a new week – well, a new work week, to be exact! – with a brand new Daily Noontime. Have a wonderful day, everyone, and remember to smile, too.

The Boston Celtics did not play their best basketball on Sunday as the Green and White were edged by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-104, at the TD Garden. Gordon Hayward led the Celtics with 24 points while Jayson Tatum added 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Marcus Smart recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Boston will attempt to return to the win column tomorrow – that would be Tuesday, March 10th, to be exact – when they visit the Indiana Pacers for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

As of this morning, the Celtics remain locked in the third position in the Eastern Conference but need to find their groove down the stretch in order to catch the Toronto Raptors for the second spot in the upcoming NBA playoffs.

Hayward told reporters after his team’s loss to the Thunder that the Celtics were not going to blame the setback on Kemba Walker, who turned the ball over with 8.5 seconds remaining. Instead, Hayward told reporters that the Celtics “lost this game together.”

After a successful road trip down south, the Boston Bruins fell apart at home on Saturday, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 5-3. Tuukka Rask denied 20 of 24 shots in the setback while Charlie McAvoy tallied one goal and one assist.

Boston will visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Boston Red Sox will play another spring training game this afternoon against the Atlanta Braves with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Boston edged the Minnesota Twins on Sunday by a score of 7-6 after splitting two games on Saturday with the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays.

And just in case you were wondering, we’re roughly two weeks away from the start of a brand new season, which seems crazy, right?

According to Jeff Borzello of ESPN, Harvard University‘s Seth Towns will compete for another team next season as a grad student – he is considering multiple programs, including Kansas, Virginia, and Syracuse. Towns has not appeared on the court this winter due to an injury – he also missed last season, too, but was named to the Lou Henson Award watch list, though.

The Holy Cross women’s basketball team will host Lafayette College this evening in the Patriot League quarterfinals. The winner will advance to Thursday’s semifinals. Holy Cross has won three-straight contests, including its final game of the 2019-20 regular season.

Yale University secured the top seed in this weekend’s Ivy League men’s basketball tournament while Princeton University is the number one seed in the women’s tournament.